The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame V: Comedy Edition

The Extra Girl (1923) Directed by F. Richard Jones, this silent comedy/drama stars Mabel Normand as a young woman from a small town who wants to be a movie star. I liked her performance and found the film to be pretty enjoyable. I think the best sequence was when she took a lion for a walk around a movie lot thinking it was a dog in a costume! The only other Mabel Normand film I have seen is Mickey (1918), which I would rank slightly higher than this film. The film had a couple humorous moments, but nothing really laugh out loud funny. I wouldn't rank The Extra Girl as one of the best comedies of the 1920s, but it is definitely worth watching and I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates silent comedy.

Another I've never heard of

I did not realise CODA was a remake of La Famille Belier. I'm slightly less interested in watching it now. I quite liked La Famille Belier.

The Graduate, 1967

Recent college graduate Ben (Dustin Hoffman) returns home to live with his parents. His post-college malaise is shaken up a bit when old family friend Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) aggressively pursues a sexual relationship with him. Despite the affair, however, Ben remains emotionally detached. That is until Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), enters the picture.

This film has long been one of those glaring omissions on the list of movies that a film buff is supposed to have watched early in discovering their passion for cinema, but that I had never got around to until this point. I often have a (unfounded, I must admit!) hesitation to watch films that have a certain degree of cultural saturation. "Plastics". "You're trying to seduce me". *bangs on large glass church window*.

But this was for the most part really great and an example of a movie that manages to use technical moves that are brilliant even as they call attention to themselves.

The movie-making on display is what I loved the most here, and on so many fronts. I loved the way that the film takes us right inside Ben's perspective, whether that's getting quick ,frantic glimpses of the nude Mrs. Robinson, literally limiting us to his point of view inside a scuba outfit, or showing characters in a darkened blur as he looks up at them from the pool. Then there's the editing, with moments like an exquisite cut from Ben jumping up onto a pool float and then seamlessly landing on top of Mrs. Robinson in bed. Finally, the camera is totally emotionally indulgent and it's great. Pans and zooms are used to obvious and excellent effect. A standout to me was a moment where Mrs. Robinson speaks to Ben, the shot beginning in close-up only to zoom out and out and out to reveal that she's in a corner far away from Ben, leaving her suddenly looking very small and vulnerable.

I also liked the acting and the character development. Hoffman does a great job of playing the subdued Ben, finding a way to give variation in his performance without ever going too big. Paired with the subjective camera, it's a fantastic combination of an actor's style and a film's style meshing perfectly. I'm thinking of the sequence where Ben takes Elaine to a strip club in order to humiliate her, and as he realizes how hurt she is, the scope of the camera suddenly ceases to include the body of the stripper, focusing instead on Elaine's face.

Bancroft is also great as Mrs. Robinson. It would be easy to hate her as a character, but we are given enough backstory and depth, and we get to see enough of her pain, that despite some really horrible actions on her part, there is sympathy for her. Mrs. Robinson is someone whose life went off track, and she carries an understandable regret for this, but also an anger at the younger generation.

The one character I felt was a bit underdeveloped was Elaine. While there's some really good rapport between Ross and Hoffman, especially in the scene where they go on their first date, I never totally got her. We see that her fiance's friends speak very crudely about her, and her fiance is known as the "make-out king." I could see Elaine being cowed into not seeing Ben. But being cowed into marrying Carl? It somehow didn't make sense to me. She's in college (or graduate school), so what's the rush? I know that she's a bit soft-spoken at times, but the wedding thing felt more like plot convenience than something the character would actually do. She mostly feels like she exists to be the center of a power tug-of-war between Ben and Mrs. Robinson.

I also felt myself wondering about Bancroft as the "older woman", and she's only like 6 years older than Hoffman! (And only 9 years older than her "daughter" LOL!). I read a piece of trivia that was like "Oh, Hoffman is so boyish and Bancroft is so aged that it works!", but for me the age difference didn't feel real. It wasn't a problem because the acting was so solid, but it did make me laugh a bit.

This was a real delight to watch. Funny, and so interesting from a technical point of view.

Attachments

 

Both Victor/Victoria and The Great Race are childhood favorites. I have no idea what I'd think of them if I watched them for the first time as an adult.

The Pink Panther Strikes Again, 1976

Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) is called on once again when nemesis Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) escapes a mental institution and sets his sights on revenge.

This was another overall positive for me, which was a pleasant surprise because I was pretty tepid on the first Pink Panther film and I haven't seen the others in the series.

For the most part I enjoyed the visual gags and just the general comic timing, even more simple gags like a man dismounting from parallel bars directly into a stairwell. The humor generally landed in the silly zone as opposed to feeling mean. I was a bit worried when the setting shifted to a gay nightclub, but Michael Robbins' drag queen is treated generally with respect and participates in the humor instead of being the butt of the joke. (Robbins being dubbed by Julie Andrews is a fun touch).

As often is the case with me and this kind of comedy (silly, and no stakes), I began to lose steam with it about 15 minutes from the conclusion. I wish there had been a more consistent secondary character to stick with Clouseau. The way that the action jumps from place to place and the lack of character interaction with any emotion makes the film feel a bit like a series of set-pieces. Funny set-pieces, but I wish there'd been a bit more of a sense of flow or relationship.

Fun stuff.

I'm a huge fan of Quo Vado? and as far as out-and-out comedies go, this one just has a great feel to it and cultural sensibilities which still translate so clearly in such a fun way. Saying it's "one that hit me in all the right ways" is exactly how I'd refer to it as well. I love how it can be politically incorrect, but in such an inoffensive and loveable manner.

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I love to hear your thoughts on those if you chose to watch them again. I bet you'd still really like them.

Well a big thank you to you if you nominated it for me!

Christmas in Connecticut (1945). Directed by Peter Godfrey, the film stars Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, and Sydney Greenstreet. Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane, a popular food writer who pretends to be a rural housewife, mother and great cook, when she is really an unmarried New Yorker who can't cook at all. When her boss invites a handsome war hero to visit her for Christmas, she must try to prevent the truth from getting out. I had this on dvd as part of a Christmas boxset, but had never got around to watching it, so I'm glad someone nominated it for me. This is a pleasant and charming holiday themed romantic comedy and I enjoyed it. Stanwyck is wonderful, as usual, and the rest of the supporting cast are fine too. There are some cute, humorous moments in the film. If I had to summarise my thoughts on the film, I would say everything is hunky dunky!

"The Apartment"- (1960 - Wilder)

Seen a few Billy Wilders before and mostly enjoyed them. This one has been talked about a lot around here and was anxious to see it. Always loved Lemmon and MacClaine is mostly hit and miss. Charming little film with sprinkled in dark moments, in which are very tame by todays standards, but imagine in '60, they were pretty racy.

This is mostly my fault because I really don't watch many older films. I've never said I was a cinephile and this review proves it.

I loved The Apartment, but it's not enough of a comedy to make my ballot for the upcoming countdown.

I know I still like Victor/Victoria, because I have watched that one semi-recently. I know I'd still like The Great Race (I still sometimes hum "He shouldn'ta, hadn'ta, oughtan'ta swang on me").

I mean more that there's a nostalgia factor there that I can't separate out.

Quo Vado? sounds quite intriguing and very worthwhile. Extra Girl sounds familiar but not truly sure if I've seen it.
Both The Graduate and The Apartment are films that I finally saw in the past year or so and thought very highly of them. Favoring The Apartment more, but then it's Lemon and a Wilder film which easily tips the scales.
It has been some time since I last saw Victor Victoria and Preston was always the highlight for me.
The Pink Panther Strikes Again has always been my favorite of the series of films and while on Blake Edwards films, like Takoma The Great Race began as a childhood favorite and one I will revisit, enjoying still as an old fogey.

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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

Holiday, 1938

Johnny (Cary Grant) meets Julia Seton (Doris Nolan) while on holiday, and is shocked when he comes home to meet her family and learns that she comes from a wealthy banking family, led my patriarch Edward (Henry Kolker). Uneasy because of his own modest background, things only get more complicated when Johnny meets Julia's depressed brother, Ned (Lew Ayres) and her spirited sister, Linda (Katharine Hepburn).

I have no problem calling this a comedy (because, um, it clearly is), but for me the part of this movie that I enjoyed the most was the drama aspect of it.

Landing as a naive in the midst of the Seton family, Johnny becomes almost symbolic of the unhealthy dynamics that plague the family. As Julia and Edward hound Johnny to accept a position at Edward's bank, Ned hangs around the edges of the film, drunk and depressed. Linda, who is spirited and humorous like Johnny, must seek refuge in an old nursery room in the house, the one place where she feels happy. Julia and Edward openly manipulate others to do what they want of them, with only the aim of more, more, more. (One great delivery is when Johnny says he wants to earn only what he needs to live on and not too much money, to which Edward incredulously replies, "Too much money?!").

I do really enjoy movies where an interaction with a couple of pure souls raises the lives of everyone in the room, and that certainly qualifies here. While Johnny is the obvious catalyst, there's also the very enjoyable supporting roles of Nick (Edward Horton) and Susan (Jean Dixon) as two of Johnny's old friends. While the comedy scenes were fine as comedy, I really enjoyed them just for the warmth they exuded.

Finally, the film nicely handles the question of Johnny being caught between the two sisters. Linda does the decent thing, which is to say that she pushes for her sister and for Johnny to be happy. When it becomes clear that Julia isn't really in love with Johnny, it causes Linda both distress and joy, as she realizes that loving him herself isn't much of a betrayal.

I quite enjoyed this film, not so much as laugh-out-loud comedy, but rather as a really sweet and heartwarming film.

I tell you want I did like about The Great Race was Natalie Wood's ultra determined suffragette character...She had some funny lines repeating her mantra at the guys.

Werewolves Within, 2021

Finn (Sam Richardson) arrives in Beaverton as the town's new forest ranger. He immediately hits it off with the local postal worker, Cecily (Milana Vayntrub). The town is currently in an uproar over a divisive new oil pipeline. But when a local's pet dog is killed and the town's generators are mysteriously slashed, the residents find themselves holed up in the local hotel with the knowledge that one of them may be an otherworldly killer.

From the trailer and some reviews I'd read, I was expecting to really like this film and, oof, I didn't dig it quite as much as I was hoping.

I did really enjoy the cast, in particular Richardson in the lead role. I was trying to figure out why looking at him made me laugh so much, and I finally placed him as the utterly bizarre host of the baby contest in an episode of the show I Think You Should Leave. Richardson is very engaging as the outsider who is immediately out of his depth.

Vayntrub is also very good, and a good partner energy-wise for Richardson, as the sardonic mail delivery person who sardonically introduces Finn to the town's odd assortment of characters.

This is a film full of very strong, over-the-top characters, and I enjoyed seeing both Michaela Watkins and Harvey Guillen (Guillermo from What We Do in the Shadows!) pop up in supporting roles. This is the kind of film that lives or dies by line delivery, and the cast does a pretty good job of it.

On the down side, though, the rhythm of the film felt a bit off to me. A bit rushed. Like everyone had been told that they could only capture a minute of film at a time, so they needed to get all their lines in before time ran out. At times the film seems to understand the importance of alternating quick-fire dialogue with slower, silent moments. But way too often everything is rapid fire for too long with not enough variation.

And maybe this is just the nature of adapting a movie from a video game, but the plot itself felt a bit weak to me. This is a film full of strong and/or outlandish characters, but it doesn't seem to use them to the best effect. The relationships between the characters--aside from the tentative romance between Finn and Cecily---are weak at best and only superficially defined. For example, a man named Pete (Michael Chernus) constantly sexually harasses Cecily as his wife just stands right there. What does his wife (the character played by Watkins) think of this behavior? Who knows?! There's a directionless nature to the film that feels charming in the first third but then becomes a bit irritating in the second half.

Around the last 30 minutes I was asking myself . And not in a fun way.

I had really high hopes for this film, and I was really pleased to see that it had been recommended for me. It was on my watchlist, and it's the kind of film I would have recommended for myself, LOL. I wish that the writing or character development had been stronger. It was fun and I enjoyed it, but it feels like it could have been so much more!

My most retained line from the film (because my sister and I used to shout it at each other) is "PUSH THE BUTTON, MAX!!!"